These lettuce wraps are hot, sweet, smoky, light and every other wonderful adjective you can think of. I want to BE like them! I can’t rave enough about all of the different flavors!  I love the crispness and texture of the lettuce against the creaminess and heat of the salad, the hot and sweet chutney against the smoky curry. Delicious and so simple to prepare. It took me about 5 minutes and after snapping a few pictures, I ate them up even faster! They are pretty and would make a nice presentation for guests. You can also put the salad over toasted Schar or Udis gluten-free baguettes. That’s actually how we prepared them in school.

We had a full day of making sandwiches this week and as you can imagine, every dish had some type of bread. I debated using my own gluten-free bread for some of them but then decided against it. I tasted a lot of the meats and salads before we made the sandwiches so I had plenty to eat. However, it was an interesting experience when we set everything up for  presentation at the end of the class. Everyone was tasting and discussing all of the sandwiches, comparing and contrasting the flavors and sharing the food we prepared together.

I didn’t mind that I couldn’t have any but I was unsure what to do with myself. Should I sit there and watch them all eat? That felt a little weird. So, I decided to keep myself busy washing dishes. That felt a little odd too. I wasn’t upset about any of this, it just made me think about my kids. Every birthday party, celebration or gathering that involves food is a way that people bond together. It’s ingrained in our culture and has always been a tradition I have enjoyed. Having food allergies and celiac limits people from being able to bond with others in that way. It’s manageable for all of us but it’s got to be tough for them sometimes.

I recently read this post by Catharine Alvarez, The Social Consequences of Food Allergy that articulates this dilemma so well. It really hit home with me and made me think that in light of the high rate of people being diagnosed with food allergies, celiac and so many other issues affecting how they eat, we may need to shift our thinking a little bit. There have to be more ways we can share, bond and come together as a community. At the very least, we can be sensitive to it for those who are younger and use other things, besides treats, to celebrate together every once in a while. Just a thought…

Thanks for being here and listening to my thoughts, for reading my recipes and sharing your experiences with me. I feel honored and humbled by every one that has read my blog, liked my Facebook page and followed me on, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, etc. Since I began this journey, my goal was to share my experiences in a way that will hopefully be of benefit to others. Every person I reach allows me to accomplish that goal. I really appreciate it!

 

 

 

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